"Defectors are not traitors and desertion is not a crime, because in this situation there is no other way out", says Alexander in an interview with DV. If a well-educated person decides not to participate in an aggressive war, it is a wise decision, he is convinced.
Alexander is one of six Russian defectors who have arrived in Paris in recent months. They fled Russia in 2022 and 2023 - first to Kazakhstan and then to France, where they now hope to be granted political asylum.
The German association Pro Asyl estimates that from the start of Russia's war against Ukraine in February 2022 to September 2023, at least 250,000 conscripts have left Russia and sought protection in other countries.
Among them are mainly Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Serbia and Israel. Deportations back to Russia have been reported from Kazakhstan and Armenia.
According to Pro Asyl, only a small part of Russian servicemen escape to Schengen countries, which is related to the more complicated escape routes and the very strict visa requirements of the EU countries.
Precedent within the EU
France has become the first EU country to allow a whole group of Russian soldiers who oppose the war in Ukraine to enter the country without a passport. To rule out any surprises, the men were previously vetted in Kazakhstan.
"I understand the concerns of Western countries as to why they do not issue travel documents en masse to defectors, as they may include agents of the Russian secret service FSB or war criminals,", Alexander says. That is why the escape of such men is carefully tracked.
"We checked the stories of all six defectors,", Alexey Alshansky from the Russian analytical group Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) told DV. The group itself was supposed to leave Russia in 2022.
Alshansky, a former Russian army officer, also helped defectors reach France. "We contacted human rights defenders in the EU and then the advocacy work began, which lasted for a year. The defectors were in Kazakhstan all the time," says Alshansky.
Escape from the Russian army
Of the six men, only the young officer Alexander was directly involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the winter of 2022, he was in the Russian-annexed Crimea. At first it all looked like a military exercise, he explains. But on February 24, 2022, they were ordered to leave for Ukraine.
"There was no order to attack Ukraine, no instructions, we just crossed the Ukrainian border and only then did we realize what was happening. I was shocked and didn't know why we were in Ukraine," says Alexander.
He emphasizes that he did not want to participate in all this. But he realized that he could not oppose him and go back.
"Either my own people would shoot me or they would arrest me at the border. I needed a legal way to return to Russia," says the defector.
When he finally got leave, he applied for a discharge from the army immediately after arriving in Russia. But in September 2022, a mobilization order was issued.
"I knew that I would either be sent to prison, or back to the front, or I would flee Russia," says Alexander.
Kazakhstan as a stopover
Kazakhstan is one of the few countries where Russians can enter without a passport. That is why many men, including Alexander, sought refuge there. After arriving there, he contacted human rights activists through friends and applied for asylum.
"I knew it would be difficult to find protection in Kazakhstan, as this country is still dependent on Russia to some extent," says the defector. "I was not granted refugee status, but at least my legal stay was extended," he adds.
Then he started knocking on the doors of Western embassies, asking for help. "I knew that I could not apply for asylum there and that this was possible only on the territory of the respective country,", says Alexander.
After two years, he was finally able to go to France. "We received permission to enter the country because we actively opposed the war, not because we were deserters,", he emphasizes.
No evidence of war crimes
"His involvement in the invasion was just fate," CIT's Alexei Alshansky says of Alexander. However, he adds that he still cannot be absolutely sure that the story is true.
On the other hand, there is no evidence that Alexander could have committed war crimes in Ukraine. "Therefore, he should benefit from humanitarian protection and it is very fortunate that he received it," says the CIT expert.
He realizes that this is met with misunderstanding among Ukrainians. For people there, "it may be difficult to see the situation from the other side and realize that not all Russian soldiers want to fight in Ukraine," he says. Many soldiers try to survive on their own during the invasion.
Under international law, participating in a war does not automatically make you a war criminal. "In the event of an armed conflict, humanitarian law guarantees the protection of all persons who do not participate in war crimes," says Alshanski.
Criticisms of Russian civil society
According to CIT, the number of Russian deserters has been increasing since the beginning of the war. This is a large part of the population that does not receive support from society, although the desertion, as Alshansky says, is "a really brave step".
"If someone goes to an anti-war demonstration with a 'No to War' placard; and because of this he spent several days behind bars, abroad he is seen as a hero. Such people can get a visa, there are international programs for them," he explains.
"But if someone escapes from Russia after spending weeks in a pit, starving and being beaten because he refused to participate in Putin's war, then he is alone,'' Alshansky adds.
"Farewell Arms"
Such men are usually helped only by foreign human rights organizations. "Russian civil society is reluctant to help defectors. It was paralyzed when it learned that someone had defected from the Russian army. This attitude is, to put it mildly, unfair," says Alshansky.
The six Russians are already working in France and supporting Russian defectors there. They have organized themselves into an association called "Goodbye, weapons!" and are protesting the war in Ukraine in their own way.
Authors: Sergey Dick, Kiril Shestakov, Anna Sokolova